EARNINGS ROUNDUP / ELECTRONIC ARTS

Video game publisher Electronic Arts Inc. posted a smaller net loss for its fourth quarter as the company continued to slash costs in a quarter with fewer hit game launches.

Redwood City, Calif.-based EA also reaffirmed its guidance for the current fiscal year, and Chief Financial Officer Eric Brown said the company was “ahead of schedule” on its cost-cutting measures that include eliminating 1,100 jobs.

EA posted a loss of $42 million, or 13 cents a share, less than half the loss of $94 million, or 30 cents, in the same period a year earlier.

Excluding special items such as restructuring charges and gains from deferred revenue, EA lost 37 cents a share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected a larger loss -- 43 cents.

Revenue fell 24% to $860 million.

Overall, video game sales are still expected to rise this year, Brown said.

EA shares slipped 3 cents to $21.35 in after-hours trading, having closed up 34 cents at $21.38 before the release of the results.